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Citation Styles Guide

What is MLA?

MLA is the style created by the Modern Language Association. It is used in the fields of:

  • English & Literature
  • Foreign Languages
  • Philosophy
  • Humanities

In-text citations generally put the author's last name in the sentence leading up to the quote, with the page number that the quote is on in parentheses after the quote. Alternatively, the author's name can also be placed in the parentheses with the page number.

Examples:

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).

Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).